`Not really there' at Jacky's concert

I was at Jacky Cheung's concert Friday night.

But I was so distracted that I probably only absorbed in about 60 per cent of the show..

It's a long story... basically I was `ditched' by a publication which earlier verbally had said I could cover. it And then just a day before the concert, I got a call saying that they would send an in-house person to go. I was actually quite upset about it.. although they have the right to send whoever they want.. but the fact that they had said ok to me first and then last minute `ditched' me was really not nice nor professional!

Well at least I still got to watch.. since I did get comp tix from the organiser. But this means for the first time in more than 10 years, I actually watched a Chinese concert without covering. Also, I didn't get to sit at the media seats.

I took mom along as she was quite game for it. After all, she is only attracted by few artistes.

It wasn't a good start for us. I had under-estimated how jam packed the road leading to the stadium was! And also how difficult it was to find a parking at Bukit Jalil! It actually started on time! So we were late.. I think Jacky had sung at least 3-4 songs already when we finally got to our seats.. I was a bit blur and ended up parking so far away from our gate!

It was quite a HUGE concert..close to 40,000 people I think. And unlike the last concert (Lee Hom's) I went to there.. the stage was placed right at the far end of the field - in order to allow more seats on the field. Which means those of us seating at the stand, even the best of those seats, were like miles away from the stage. Jacky was tinier than an ant! We couldn't see at all and had to look at the screens to know what what happening on stage.

Even then.. it was not really very easy to watch.. so already that was like a damper.


How the stage looked like and the amount of people (dark foreground) on the field!


A zoomed (and blurish) shot of the stage from my seat. You can't even see Jacky!

Then, in order to find a better view, we changed seats three times! (since ours were already taken although it was numbered seating) From quite high up at the block, we moved to the first row. It was a bit nearer and clearer or so we thought, but the view was being blocked most of the time by those people at the last few rows on the field - cos they were standing!! :X

Jacky sang most of his most popular numbers - in both Cantonese and Mandarin. What I remembered most was the musical segment which saw he delivered songs from the movie `Perhaps Love' and his musical `Snow Wolf Lake' in a medley fashion complete with acting. He was very expressive and engrossed..

About 2/3 of the show, mom wanted to move back towards the back and from then on, I think I was hardly concentrating! First mom went to the toilet for the longest time and I got so worried (actually she was just standing outside to get fresh air!) And then the smell of thos `luk luk' was so tempting that I ended up going out twice to get some supper for mom and me!

Mmm.. it was quite nice enjoying food and nice music..and then there was a bit of breeze finally!

Knowing the impending horrendous traffic condition, I intended to leave before it ended. But having no run-down list, I didn't know which would be the last few songs. So when the time was almost midnight, I think the concert was more or less ending (unless he generously decided to oblige a second encore - which he didn't).

Just as we walked out of the stadium, Jacky sang his classic Mandarin hit `zhu fu'. Mom exclaimed that that was the only song she knew! And seeing that she was quite keen to listen to it, we went in again and stood at the back, and saw a sea of chorus joining Jacky in that familiar number.

Actually THAT was the very last song.

So even we had a head start then the crowd that stayed till the very end, we had a very long walk back to the car and almost couldn't find it! Finally, when we were inside the car, it was madness and just couldn't move at all.. after we managed to leave the stadium, the road outside was totally congested. Sigh...

It took us more than an hour to reach home. It was already 1:20am. The journey would have taken us 15 mins normally..

So, how was the concert? Did I enjoy it? Well, to be fair I think Jacky sang well.. his vocal prowess was undeniable and his performance and showmanship was captivating. The stage, the sound system was good, so was the whole flow of the concert..There were some fireworks too! A Jacky Cheung's fan would have been more than appeased and satisfied I think.

But for me, because I was too distracted by so many external factors.. I was physically there but my mind was somewhere else. So I didn't manage to enjoy it much :( Well, in a way it is still memorable, but for all the wrong reasons..

What a shame. Actually I had been looking forward to watching AND covering this concert since it was first announced.

Oh well, at least I still got to go.. and for free too.